23 - 25 September 2013, Dushanbe, Central, Asia - UNITAR, the Regional Environment Centre in Central and Eastern Europe and the Government of Tajikistan delivered a three day training event for officials drawn from 16 government ministries, local authorities, private sector and NGOs. The event provided participants with an introduction to climate change policy, the main negotiating themes under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and how these relate to national circumstances in Tajikistan.

Among a wide variety of training techniques and approaches used, the training featured a video message from the Secretariat of the UN Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) tailored to the Tajik context, explaining the current and future directions of the international negotiations, and specifically the post-2012 workstreams.

The training was organized by the Government’s Climate Change Centre which leads on climate change policy, knowledge and learning in Tajikistan, a part of the State Administration for Hydrometeorology. In his opening remarks the UNFCCC Focal Point and Director Mr. Mahmad Safarov stressed the importance of a cross government approach to climate change and expressed his thanks to the Government of Switzerland for its support in arranging the training.

The Head of the Climate Change Centre, Mr. Ilhom Rajabov provided guidance and insights throughout the three days, also delivering a module on climate change finance and technology transfer. He expressed his thanks to his ministerial colleagues for taking part in the event and stated that the Climate Change Centre was depending on their involvement in defining a national position on climate change for Tajikistan.

UNITAR’s Manager for Climate Change, Mr. Angus Mackay, reminded participants that the ongoing global climate change negotiations are of relevance to Tajikistan’s national vision and future prosperity. He stated that the training was designed to help the Government to build a coherent and broad-based national position that could be delivered in international climate change meetings.

This training event forms a part of a wider support project, funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, to strengthen the capacity of Tajik policy makers to participate effectively in the UNFCCC process during 2013. The project will also assist in organization and delivery of a Tajikistan specific side event at COP-19 in Warsaw, as well as a follow up national event in Dushanbe in early 2014. Further details can be found at the following link:

Participants: State Organization for Hydrometeorology, Committee for Environmental Protection, Committee on Women and the Family, Committee of the Emergency Situation and Civil Defense, Ministry of Economy and Trade, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Melioration & Water Resources, Ministry of Energy & Industry, Statistic Agency, Department of Environmental Protection in Dushanbe, Scientific Research Centre for Protection of Water Resources, Forest Scientific Research Institute, OSHC «Barki Tojik», Youth Ecological Centre, National Biodiversity Centre.